The present invention relates to an apparatus for packing cigarettes and other smoking articles into preformed hinged lid packs. More particularly, the invention relates to an improved arrangement of apparatus adapted to receive a steady stream of closed empty packs having hinged lid tops with means to open the tops and insert cigarettes or other smoking articles therein, close the top and move the closed packs away for packing and shipping.
In the prior art there are many known devices and apparatuses for packing cigarettes and other smoking articles into empty packs under high speed manufacturing and packaging conditions. In fact, one of the primary factors in the success of manufacturing of relatively small packages of consumer goods, is the ability to quickly and effectively package the product for shipment at the lowest possible cost. This lowest possible cost includes both the upkeep on the equipment and the intensity of labor necessary to package the goods. Moreover, with increasingly improved techniques for high speed manufacture and packaging of consumer goods, it has been found that the higher the speed of the machines, the more costly and complex are the machines to obtain these high production rates. This is particularly true in the cigarette industry where great strides have been made in high speed techniques for dispensing the product into consumer sized packages. However, high speed machines presently in use for packaging have been extremely complex and costly, and generally it is difficult to justify the increased cost for the increased speed and capacity. Furthermore, most of the conventional apparatus presently available suffers drawbacks of frequent breakdowns as well as the reliability of parts which are readily susceptible for rapid maintenance and replacement in view of these breakdowns. Thus, the cigarette industry is always looking for simplistic means of packing their cigarette articles at high speed with the minimum amount of labor and with a minimum amount of maintenance.